U TURE WITH

E F BE
TH GOING TO :

INTRODUCTION

Understanding the usage of 'going to' in the

future tense is essential for expressing
intentions, plans, and predictions. This
construction provides a clear way to
communicate our anticipated actions and
events. In this context, 'going to' is employed to
convey premeditated actions, where individuals
express what they plan or expect to happen in
the future. Let's delve into the nuances of using
'going to' and explore how it becomes a
valuable tool for articulating our future
endeavors."
General Objective of the Topic:
TO EQUIP ENGLISH LEARNERS WITH A COMPREHENSIVE
UNDERSTANDING AND PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE
"GOING TO" STRUCTURE IN THE FUTURE TENSE. THE
GOAL IS FOR STUDENTS TO DEVELOP STRONG SKILLS IN
EXPRESSING INTENTIONS, PLANS, AND PREDICTIONS
CONFIDENTLY, BOTH IN WRITTEN AND SPOKEN
CONTEXTS. BY THE END OF THE TOPIC, STUDENTS
SHOULD BE ABLE TO APPLY THIS GRAMMATICAL
CONSTRUCTION ACCURATELY AND EFFECTIVELY,
ENHANCING THEIR COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN
ENGLISH.

Specific Objective:
LEARNERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE
PROFICIENCY IN USING "GOING TO" FOR
EXPRESSING FUTURE PLANS BY CONSTRUCTING
GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT SENTENCES IN
VARIOUS CONTEXTS. THIS INCLUDES
DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN SPONTANEOUS
DECISIONS AND PREMEDITATED INTENTIONS,
SHOWCASING AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE
NUANCED APPLICATIONS OF "GOING TO" IN
EVERYDAY COMMUNICATION.

“Be going to” suele

“Be going to” suele
aparecer en contextos
aparecer en contextos
informales, así que casi
informales, así que casi
siempre lo usamos con
siempre lo usamos con
contracciones, como “I'm”,
contracciones, como “I'm”,
“he's”, “it's”, “we're” y
“he's”, “it's”, “we're” y
“they're”.
“they're”.
When is this verb tense used?
In English we can use "be going to" to convey a future idea.
Although there are many ways of expressing future ideas in
English, this structure has two main functions.

First, we use it to refer to future plans that we have already

decided on. It reflects the speaker's intentions for the future,
although it does not necessarily mean that we have already
started preparations or that these things will actually happen:

-When I grow up, I'm going to be an astronaut!

-In two years I will go to Madrid to study fashion design.

-Next weekend I'm going to sleep in.

We can also use "be going to" to make predictions based on what
we see in the present:

-If you're not careful you're going to tip that glass over.

-It's going to be very cold. I think it's going to snow.

-Clara's birthday party is going to be great," she was showing me

the restaurant online. He was showing me the restaurant
online.)
As we have seen before, we usually use the present continuous
tense in English when we want to allude to plans for the future,
that is, to things we have already organized. This verb tense is
practically interchangeable with "be going to":

-Tonight I'm going to have dinner with Tom.

-Tonight I'm having dinner with Tom.

-She's going to the cinema on Friday.

-She's going to go to the cinema on Friday.

In the above cases, both sentences in each example are correct

(although perhaps the present continuous is easier to use, and we
could avoid saying "going to go" simply because it sounds a bit
repetitive).

Common Errors
It is common for learners of English to confuse some forms of
future tense with others.

When we are making predictions, we can use both "will" and "be
going to". What is the difference? We usually use "be going to"
when there is some evidence to support our prediction, but in
reality both are possible:

-It's very cloudy, I think it's going to rain.

It's very cloudy - I think it's going to rain.
It's very cloudy - I think it'll rain.

However, if we are referring to the future in general, "will" is

usually used when speaking spontaneously, when we have not
yet made a plan.

What are you doing tonight?

I think I'll meet Dave after work [here the speaker has just
thought of that plan].

What are you doing tonight?

I'm going to meet Dave after work [here the speaker had
already thought of that].
The general rule is that we use "will" (and not "be going to")
when we make the decision at the moment we are speaking:

-The phone's ringing - I'll get it!

✓
The phone's ringing - I'll get it!
The phone's ringing - I'm going to get it! ✗

conclusion

In conclusion, the detailed study of the use of "going to" in the

future tense has provided students with a valuable tool to
express their intentions, plans, and predictions in English
more accurately and effectively. Throughout this topic, we
have explored the subtleties of this grammatical
construction, highlighting its role in everyday
communication.